Texas, Our Texas, Let’s Get Drunk and Nakkid
Boy’s State, where high school juniors go to learn about government. Only the best and the brightest get to go, which explains why Texas is such a mess.
Our Boy’s State turned a little sexy — well, ta tas took front and center stage.
Huff Post has the story but the whole story comes from Burnt Orange Report.
At this year’s Texas Boys State conference, 920 high school students, or statesmen as they’re referred to, gathered at the University of Texas at Austin to form municipalities, run for office, and pass legislation.
During their hectic week learning the “rights, privileges, and responsibilities of franchised citizens,” they debated the legalization of marijuana and drafted strategies for water conservation and education and immigration reform.They also gave speeches touting “Cold Beer and Titties,” designed campaign logos showing women in bikinis, and created a party platform shaming teenage mothers.
And there ya go – your future Republican state Lege!
Hey, as Merdine just said, “At least it wasn’t nakkid goats this time.”
Thanks to Sarah for the heads up.
Good grief.
1So much for the theory that the Fox Not the News misogynist audience is dying. They’ve spawned another generation or two. College boys with the ‘minds’ of pee-adolescents does not bode well for the future of Texas. Shudder to think about the young ladies either desperate or sufficiently dumb to date & marry those losers.
2Boys State sounds a lot like the Delta fraternity in ‘Animal House.’ Without the leadership of Bluto (John Belushi).
3Both of my sons went to Boy’s State. They turned into good citizens and are both Democrats to the core. Nuff said.
4They show beer and boobs and then slut-shame. Sounds like they have a dis-connect. Who are the sluts being slutty with, BOYS?
5Rethuglican Family Values at work. Treat woman with the respect they deserve. Tell them what they are worth and when they get in a rethuglican family way-they are on their own.
6Olden Grey, credit to you and your sons. You obviously instilled in them the critical thinking skills to make Boys State a positive experience for them. In all likelihood, the Boys State your sons attended were adequately chaperoned and mentored, as was the one I attended. I have a number of friends who had positive experiences at both Girls State and Boys State.
That said, it’s a fact those trust fund babies at the Boys State in question were were not properly supervised and went cloaked with their affluence excuse.
Slut shaming? Really. Just what we need, more right wing rhetoric without a shred of science about the reproductive process.
Olden Grey, unlike the GOP against reproductive health care, will wag a guess that you shared with your sons as did my parents our responsibility in not becoming a teen daddies.
7“At this year’s Texas Boys State conference, 920 high school students, or statesmen as they’re referred to, gathered at the University of Texas at Austin to form municipalities, run for office, and pass legislation.”
Are you seriously telling me that only boys were allowed to take part in this government-playing?
Well, no wonder they think females have only one purpose.
8Rhea, there is a long tradition of Girls State and Boys State in most states. My thought almost went your direction, as to why it can’t be Student State, when I thought about being one of those 16-19 year old youth. Co-ed State is probably not something high school adolescents are ready to handle, considering the pervasiveness of a rape culture on college campuses.
Wish it wasn’t so in the 21st century, but there’s still so much do be done to educate boys to respect women and for the girls to learn self-respect. Respect starts with self-respect, so we need to teach our daughters to value themselves as the special people that they are, while we educate our sons to treat all women as they should treat their sisters and mothers.
9State of Texas looks like a gang sign. Stick your left middle finger in the air and your thumb out like you are hitching a ride. Place your right hand,thumb down next to your left hand. If that ain’t Texas I’ll kiss your patoot and bark like a fox. Don’t thank me,just don’t shoot me unless you are a jealous husband.
10Boys and girls go to school together, and presumably even are on the same field trips, so why separate Boys and Girls State conventions still exist is a mystery to me. Why the U.S. still has separate scouting organziations (in most countries, there is just “scouts”) suggests to me that the dubious behavior I hear about up there north of the Rio Bravo comes from segregating the sexes for no good reason.
11Richard South of the Border, you raise a number of good points and hopefully we can work our way there in the 21st Century. One of the most fierce fighting forces, the Israelis have been able to integrate men, women and gays.
Meh? I was raised by wonderful parents and two older sisters, so even ten years ago, a co-ed over night sleeper would not have set my teenage male hormones on a rampage. My sisters had friend over for sleepovers, and my parents didn’t need to lock me in my room.
But with the home schooled and Xtian ‘educated’ boys and girls, sex is like alcohol. Those of us who have been educated to drink responsibly at home deal with it better than our contemporaries to whom it was a forbidden fruit.
Adam, Eve and the apple has no place in reasonable discourse. I have no ‘war’ on religion, churches or Christianity.
But Americans, particularly the religious slut-shaming evangelicals are worse than the Taliban, because instead of teaching their sons condoms and respect, they promote abstinence only programs.
Palin and McShame were a perfect example. They both forget their youth and deny the very youth of their own children. Not that any of the Palin children had the smarts to attend Boys or Girls State, but their kind of thinking does present pause to gender integrated State experience. Oh yeah, Bristol in a sea of boys. Worse yet Sarah; formula for disaster.
12Well, I wouldn’t want my daughters anywhere near those boys, ever! It’s getting sadder and sadder! I truly grieve for our once great nation–I’m not sure if we can turn it around, there are so many undisciplined, basically abandoned kids out there..and lots of them are upper “class” college bound–with so few people able to take the time (I took it, so I know what it takes) to instill the important information into the children, this is what you get. Parents working double time, at jobs that can’t support a family, it’s a mess. We are going to reap the whirlwind with males like these in our future…rape on college campus is already a big problem. Gross…no more boys will be boys…and they are just working off steam…BS..time for real men to step up. Dang…
13Elise Von Holten, my father stepped up, as did my mother in raising me. But, good families deserve assistance in doing the right things. That is not coming from the GOP. That ‘party’ of alleged family values and fiscal conservatism are anything but what they claim to be.
I was one of the lucky ones. My Dad made enough money to support the family, and have enough time off on weekends, evenings and in the summer to help Mom raise us. We had a home, food security and family vacations. That is the wage all working people and their children deserve. Family dinner table, we ate dinner as a family every night, had breakfast every morning, plus holiday and Sunday special dinners.
Elise, the current GOP disgusts me. I give them no slack on blaming the Tea Baggers, when Mitt the Twit elevates his cars over children. McSloppy doesn’t even know how many houses his Sugar Momma owns, while there are homeless children and refuge children deserving of compassionate care at our southern border.
2014 & 2016, vote and give President Obama a functional Congress and the numbers necessary to reject the Roberts ‘court’Opus Dei terrorists.
14There is a reason that all-girl schools (and colleges) are still needed. Girls will defer to boys almost automatically. Girls who go to all-girl schools don’t have that option. Look at the female leaders from decades past up to today and you will find women who went to “segregated” schools. And, yes, I am looking at you, Hillary.
On the subject of Boys State: my idiot uncle (late, thank Dog) was involved in this around these parts. That fool thought women were inferior; which explains why he married a very educated, responsible woman who made sure they had a roof over their heads and food in the fridge.
Don’t get me started on those Catholic menfolk who prevailed in today’s decisions. They are members of the tribe I was born into. However, I am raising a glass to Ruth Bader Ginsburg–a member of a different “tribe”–this evening for standing up for ME.
15Reminds me of something I saw recently online:
“I’ve spent 17 years trying to teach my daughter how not to get raped. How long have you spent teaching your sons not to rape?”
(Though “teaching how not to get raped” assumes that that’s possible.)
16I attended the Texas Boys State this year, and let me tell you that it was chaotic, rowdy and downright anarchic. However I do not appreciate how you classify all 920 of my statesmen as republican in your off hand comment at the end of the quote. As a matter of fact it was the Federalist party alone who displayed the playboy magazine as their symbol. This article came from a campus magazine, however it was ALSO a campus magazine (break time I think it was called) which was so generously distributed by the University and allowed the party of 460 boys to each have one.
And lastly, this Burnt Orange Report sought to make the Boys State program appear to be a problem while at the same time applauding the endeavors of the Girls State side. However both programs are run by the same American Legion and the only difference is one has boys and one has girls. Maybe teen age boys just want Beer and Titties, but if I may point to the scoreboard, Boys state has turned out many Governors, Senators and Congressmen. Unfortunately taking a stab at the American Legion isn’t going to change the way teen aged boys are, and always will be.
17Viva Ruth! May she have the strength to carry on a few more years at least! This country is damn lucky to have her on the Supreme Court.
18“shaming teenage mothers”! Who got them pregnant? They didn’t get each other pregnant! I think there was a male of the species involved each time.
As far as co-ed teen activity when my children were teens there was a local Explorer Scout troop which did some really neat things, including trips that had me wishing there had been such when I was that age. I doubt if we were the only place that had such.
19I strongly suspect that nakkid goats were also present.
20Sean–Thanks for your thoughtful comments. You’re right to remind us that the antics of a few are not necessarily the actions of the many. I hope you also see why the actions mentioned here are inappropriate on any stage.
Richard South of the Border–BarbinDC is right about the Girl Scouts choosing to remain “segregated” because of our effort (yes, I’m still one after 50+ years) to help girls have room to blossom without being bullied by boys. But we also encourage girls to take part in the coeducational activities Boy Scouts offer teens, including Adventure Scouts and other opportunities for boys and girls to work together.
BTW, I’m part of a program that just put on a local day camp that included close to 200 girls from kindergarten to middle school and close to 150 in middle school and high school–one of the most balanced camps in the country when it comes to younger girl/older girl ratio (most have few, if any, older girls involved).
We’re proud of what we do, partly because we believe we need to make girls strong enough to stand up to the forces turning so heavily against them.
21SEAN: Perhaps many governors and other successful politicians were the product of Boys’ State, but considering the woeful condition of our country as a result of their misrule that’s not anything to be proud of.
22Sean: If you read the article, then your statement that “the only difference is one has boys and one has girls” is obviously not true. Boys State had over 30 elected officials (in a state without any statewide elected Democrats) while Girls State had not one. Not one. That is a significant difference. Also, the girls debated minimum wage, school funding and same sex marriage. The boys engaged in sexist behaviors and teenage mom shaming. That’s also a big difference. Really, don’t think for a moment that the only difference between the two programs is one has boys and one has girls. You can’t be that naive.
23From the same article: “What happened at Girls State, the female counterpart to Boys State run by the American Legion Auxiliary, might offer us a glimmer of hope.
“The young women I spoke with said they had an empowering experience and felt inspired to run for public office. Even though they didn’t have a single member of the state legislature speak to them, while more than 30 state representatives, senators, and current and former statewide elected officials visited the boys.”
24@ Rhea #16- a long-time friend of mine ex-marine Viet combat vet and I were once watching a guy do the old needle and thread rape not possible thing.My ex-marine friend cold cocked the guy with one punch and was showing the demonstrator the threaded needle when he came to. This is not to advocate violence,but the guy did change his attitude. He also taught both his daughters effective close up and personal protection techniques.
25So I guess this all means that my petition to make ‘Titties & Beer’ by Rodney Carrington the State Song isn’t going anywhere?
26I have to say one of my best memories was the summer I was at Girls’ State and Ann Richards come to speak. I believe she was a Travis County Commissioner at this time.
27OK, time for my rant on “the kids aren’t gettting enough parenting.” My husband’s mother was widowed when my husband was 5 and his little brother was 3. She raised 3 boys alone…on her salary as a civil service worker, which–since she was a woman and this was the ’50s and thereafter–wasn’t a heckuva lot because women weren’t promoted like men. She raised three boys who all went to and graduated from college, all married and stayed married. My mother raised me working long, long hours and guess what I never smoked, drank, slept around even though I was told I was “at risk” by the people who thought a divorcee had no morals. I wasn’t supposed to be married to decent man or stay married etc, etc.
So it’s not that you have to have two-parent families with the man making enough for everybody to live on. You DO have to have at least one parent who’s smart, honest, a good role model for decent behavior, and will spend the time at it, even when she’s exhausted, sick, and wonders if the job will ever end.
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